Breaking with Purpose

I always loved dancing. Who doesn't know that? I only saw breaking on TV, as I never had real live exposure to it until I saw Sub Elements on Northern Illinois University's cable show that had a mini interview/documetary of Sub Elements (aka Groundhogs) on Channel 22 back in my college days. My first introduction to live breaking was coming down to visit a friend of mine, to watch him practice moves. After that, I came as a spectator like Joy and Amber do now just as moral support. But being that I am ambitious, I couldn't resist just watching. My first attempt at breaking was to trying to do windmills and handstands, like Jerome and CJ were doing in the lower level of the basement. Every tries to excel at flares and windmills, at first, but it is pointless and has nothing to do with improving style.

After I learned that breaking is more about style, I quit that and decided to try to uprock and concentrated on footwork. I love break dancing because its such a challenge and such a good work out. Just look at the guys that can really do those difficult hollows and other power moves. "They're all cut up!" My purpose in coming to breaking practice is to get better each week by learning new moves, becoming smooth in my runs and finding my own style first off; to just "move" and see the same people that have the same interest in having fun, doing it for themselves, setting their goals and perfecting their style.

Each week I go into the circle because I want to get a feel of it and even though my moves are so limited, I am trying. I am motivated when I see everyone in a circle and when Billy Hoe, gave that Hardcore Cock Swollen/Speech about how "our crew sucks and we don't have a crew if we don't get in a circle so we can battle each other." (By the way I liked the Diversions Lounge atmosphere the most and the practice because it was fun when we battled each other.) There is so much to learn and almost no boundaries in doing it, yet some of the moves athat I want to learn require intense practice, balance, some muscle strength that still needs to be developed and have some getting used to.

Move I would like to get down are all the steps: 6-steps, 5-steps, 4-steps, etc."heck, if I knew what they called all the steps!" I have to look that up somewhere. I would like to uprock better, my uprocking looks like I'm jumping over hot coal, it's not too appealing to watch. I would like to get this by two weeks from this date (10/17/02). I am going to do this by keep practicing the steps over and over and asking different people for different down rocking moves so I can add it on to my list. If I don't get this by two weeks, let me rephrase that, there won't be I won't get this in two weeks, so don't worry. I will. The other for sure stance I need to get finally, is holding a handstand or at least learning how to fall right because after falling on my tailbone a couple of times I still have a fear of handstands on the hard ground and religned organs because of that. I don't want to get a "Nickalai" in my back...a SPLAT-SMACK-DAB to the ground like this one boy did. I think I might need three weeks for this. If I don't get this, consider me only a down rocker or a salsa dancer, nah I'll just have to keep trying right? My priorites are the down rocking steps. the bonus is a handstand.

Presently: Moved on to Salsa and Bachata full-time (What is that? New article on Salsa and Bachata is coming soon)

Written on October 3, 2002

Posted: 12:48 a.m. EST October 3, 2005 by Anne Meesriyong